Ukraine's Arakhamia and Lubinets head to meeting with Melania Trump on Oleshky
Photo: David Arakhamia (MP's social media)
US First Lady Melania Trump will personally bring together representatives of Ukraine and Russia at the White House to discuss the ceasefire in Oleshky, an informed source told RBC-Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia delegation members
According to an RBC-Ukraine source, the following officials will attend the meeting with the US first lady in Washington:
From Ukraine: David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, and Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.
From Russia: Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy, and Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova.
Humanitarian mission in Oleshky: background
Blockade and starvation: Since the beginning of 2026, the situation in Russian-occupied Oleshky on the left bank of the Kherson region has become critical due to roads mined by Russian forces and drone attacks on vehicles carrying food. By spring, the city was facing de facto famine, with only around 6,000 civilians remaining (down from 25,000 before the invasion). The last targeted food delivery took place on May 26.
Aid delivered by drones and risks to civilians: Ukraine's Defense Forces periodically dropped food and medicine to civilians using UAVs. However, Russian forces mined roads and hunted down local residents. People were killed by explosions and died from malnutrition. With infrastructure destroyed and the morgue out of operation, the bodies of those killed were left on the streets or in hospitals.
Negotiations and international involvement: Talks aimed at rescuing civilians had been underway since the spring at the initiative of Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. The process involved appeals to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the OSCE, the Vatican, and the UN. In October, Pope Leo XIV joined the efforts, while a decisive diplomatic breakthrough was achieved through the mediation of US First Lady Melania Trump.
Ceasefire and evacuation: On October 23, an agreement on a local ceasefire was announced. It took effect on October 27 and remained in place until November 1. This made it possible to unblock the humanitarian corridor: aid was delivered to the residents, and over 500 civilians were evacuated by bus. Those who chose to return to Ukrainian-controlled territory were provided with a route through Crimea, Russia, and Belarus, followed by a meeting at the Ukrainian border.
